Barcelona & Montserrat, Spain

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The Streets of Barcelona

I loved the narrow and not so narrow streets of this beautiful city. Manoj in the cafe called Cappuccino. Also a picture of me in Placa Catalunya. I like the way spanish people say "Placa Catalunya," the name of this place. They say it so fast that the first few times I could not follow what they were saying. This is a central place in Barcelona.

The food market tour 

Most European cities have food markets. I am always fascinated by them and always visit at least one food market in a city or town I am in. Our cooking class included a visit to a nearby food market to buy ingredients for the dishes to be cooked later in the class. .

Spanish cooking class

We learned to cook Spanish tortilla, pan con tomat, gazpacho, paella, and crema catalan. As you can see, Manoj stirred and made the perfect sofrito for paella. We plan to host paella parties and I am volunteering Manoj for making paella.

This experience was fun.

Self exploration of Sant Cugat

This is the place where Manoj had his conference. I explored the monastery and the town by myself. Sant Cugat also had a lovely market where I got my dinner of sardines and drank lots of red wine (Rioja).

Pictures from the walking tour of Barcelona

The first one is an important one. On those steps, the Spanish king met Christopher Columbus before his voyage to find a new route to India, the land of spices. This is where Christopher Columbus came back and told the King of his discovery of the land of America.

The cathedral of Barcelona.

The banners on houses and the man with the flag in the middle of town square are showing solidarity for the jailed Catalonian leaders who have been in jail since 2017. They were jailed for passing a referendum to free Catalonia from Spain. Their trial verdict came out while we were there and the leaders were sentenced to be in jail for another 13 years. Catalonians have been protesting against the verdict, seeking amnesty for the jailed leaders.

Last but not least.. Yummmm… Thick Hot Chocolate (like the one Juliet Binoche made in Chocolat for her old landlady) with churros.

Famous Spanish Architect Gaudi and his masterpieces

La Pedrera and La Sagrada Familia

He liked to combine the elements of nature into buildings. He died while working on the Cathedral la Sagrada Familia. Construction still continues on this cathedral.

Montserrat

Montserrat is a spectacularly beautiful Benedictine monk mountain retreat about one hour North West from Barcelona by train.

Here are a few pictures from our trip here. My pictures don't do justice to the beautiful rocky mountains.


Location: Barcelona, Spain

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